Thursday, 31 December 2009

Malaysia's court ruling: Allah is not exclusive to Islam

Even in Indonesia, where Allah is used sporadically in the translationof the Bible, its use is discrete and are not meant to mislead, unlikein Malaysia.

Allah is substituted for Jesus when it should be just god. The biblenever uses the word Allah as a translation to God. Allah is not aMalay word for God. The Malay word for God is Tuhan.

In Malay, Allah is meant to be the God of Muslims. Since the bible isto be translated to Malaysian Malay, it must be translated accordingto the normal rules of translation, not to mislead the readers.

Why on Earth should Christians in Malaysia want to use the word Allahto describe God when the correct translation is Tuhan? Unless it isattempting to mislead readers to consider that that Jesus is also thegod of the Malays, which is completely nonsense.

Just because Allah is not exclusive to Islam, does not mean that itcan be used without any just cause. Just because Koran is notexclusive to Islam, does not mean that it can be used to translate theword "Bible" into Koran in Malay. This is what it amounts to.

If the Christians want to translate the Bible to Malay, then useproper Malay words and grammar. Usually poor Malay grammar and wordsis an insult to the language and customs of the Malays and Muslims.Use the correct word for God, i.e. Tuhan!!!

Malaysian court rules Catholic paper can use "Allah"Royce CheahKUALA LUMPURThu Dec 31, 2009 4:57am ESTRelated NewsSchool holidays in Malaysia, time for circumcisionMon, Nov 23 2009KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court ruled on Thursday that aCatholic newspaper can use "Allah" to describe God in a surprisejudgment that could allay worries about the erosion of minority rightsin the majority Muslim country.

WORLD

The High Court said it was the constitutional right for the Catholicnewspaper, the Herald, to use the word "Allah."

"Even though Islam is the federal religion, it does not empower therespondents to prohibit the use of the word," said High Court judgeLau Bee Lan.

Last January, Malaysia banned the use of the word "Allah" byChristians, saying the use of the Arabic word might offend thesensitivities of Muslims who make up 60 per cent of Malaysia's 28million population.

Analysts say cases such as that involving the Herald worry MalaysianMuslim activists and officials who see using the word Allah inChristian publications including bibles as attempts to proselytize.

The Herald circulates in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo Island where mosttribal people converted to Christianity more than a century ago.

In February, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur MurphyPakiam, as publisher of the Herald, filed for a judicial review,naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents.

He had sought to declare that the decision by the respondentsprohibiting him from using the word "Allah" in the Herald was illegaland that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to Islam.

The Home Minister's decision to ban the use of the word was illegal,null and void, said Lau.

Lawyers representing the government said they would refer to the HomeMinistry on whether to appeal.

"It is a day of justice and we can say right now that we are citizensof one nation," said Father Lawrence Andrew, the Herald's editor.

Christians -- including about 800,000 Catholics -- make up about 9.1percent of Malaysia's population. Malays are by definition Muslims andare not allowed to convert.

Malaysia was rated as having "very high" government restrictions onreligion in a recent survey by the Pew Forum, bracketing it with thelikes of Iran and Egypt and it was the 9th most restrictive of 198countries.

Published since 1980, the Herald newspaper is printed in English,Mandarin, Tamil and Malay. The Malay edition is mainly read by tribesin the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo Island.

Ethnic Chinese and Indians, who are mainly Christians, Buddhists andHindus, have been upset by court rulings on conversions and otherreligious disputes as well as demolitions of some Hindu temples.